Hay Player

Sound

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

In 1997, Bella Bathurst began to go deaf. Within a few months, she had lost half her hearing, and the rest was slipping away. For the next 12 years deafness shaped her life, until, in 2009, everything changed again. Sound draws on this extraordinary experience, exploring what it is like to lose your hearing and – as Bella eventually did – to get it back. What does that teach you about listening and silence, music and noise? She investigates the science behind deafness, hearing loss among musicians, soldiers and factory workers; sign language, and what the deaf know about these subjects that the hearing don’t. Chaired by Kamal Ahmed.

Hay Player

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Who has won the 2017 Bookseller YA Prize? Join the distinguished line-up of some of the authors shortlisted for the 2017 The Bookseller YA Book Prize as they discuss their books before the moment that the winner is announced and celebrated. The shortlisted authors are: Sara Barnard, Malorie Blackman, Laure Eve, Clare Furniss, Lisa Heathfield, Patrice Lawrence, Peadar O’ Guilin, Francesca Simon, Martin Stewart and Alex Wheatle. Chaired by Gemma Cairney.

#HAYYA

12+

Hay Player

The Tale of Angelino Brown

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The Carnegie Medal-winning author of Skellig discusses his new novel for younger readers. Illustrated by Claude creator Alex T Smith, Angelino Brown is the warm and witty tale of a little angel who appears in bus driver Bert’s top pocket and brings joy to everyone’s lives. But some people aren’t so sure, including big bully Basher Malone, who’s out to get him. Delightful storytelling, perfect for fans of the author’s international bestseller, The Boy Who Swam with Piranhas.

9+

Hay Player

The War in the West, Volume 2

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

In the second volume of his acclaimed new history of the Second World War, Holland examines the momentous turning points of 1941–1943: Hitler’s invasion of Russia; America’s entry into the conflict; the devastating Thousand Bomber Raids over Germany; the long struggle in the deserts of North Africa and the defeat of the U-boats in the crucial Battle of the Atlantic.

Hay Player

Julian of Norwich

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Julian of Norwich was the subject of medievalist and TV historian Janina Ramirez’s latest BBC Four documentary: In Search of the Lost Manuscript, Julian of Norwich. Drawing on the material in her latest book, Ramirez takes us further into the history of the Mother of English Literature, discussing what we know about Julian and why she deserves to be seen as a writer on an equal footing with Chaucer or Thomas More. Chaired by Peter Florence.

Hay Player

The 50 Things: Lessons for When You Feel Lost, Love Dad

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

As his 50th birthday dawned, Peter Dunne set out to leave a trail of metaphorical breadcrumbs for his three children, so that if they ever needed to know what their father might have had to say they would have him to hand: from compromise to compassion, and democracy to sacrifice, Dunne explores the social mores and morality of our time and tries to answer the eternal questions that line the path to peace of mind. He talks to Sarah Crown.

Hay Player

Linescapes: Remapping and Reconnecting Britain’s Fragmented Wildlife

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

It is rare to find a landscape untouched by our lines – the hedges, walls, ditches and dykes built to enclose and separate; and the green lanes, roads, canals, railways and power lines, designed to connect. This vast network of lines has transformed our landscape.

In Linescapes, Hugh Warwick unravels the far-reaching ecological consequences of the lines we have drawn. As our lives and our land have been fenced in and threaded together, so wildlife habitats have been cut into ever smaller, and increasingly unviable, fragments. He talks to Oliver Balch author of Under the Tump.

Hay Player

Mind the Gap: Young People, Brexit and the Generational Divide - Cardiff University Series 5

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The result of the 2016 EU referendum revealed striking divisions between generations, with a majority of 18-24-year-olds voting to remain, and a majority of over-65s voting to leave. How can we connect the generations? The panellists are all research associates at the Wales Institute for Social and Economic Research Data and Methods in Cardiff.

In association with Cardiff University

Hay Player

Billie’s Big Audition

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Welcome to the World Elite Dance Academy. Billie has dreamed of being a dancer for as long as she can remember. Now she has an audition at WEDA, a world-famous contemporary dance school, but will she be able to get over her nerves and win a place at her dream school? Join superstar Kimberly Wyatt as she dances you through her brand-new series and always remember…be you, be fearless, be authentic.

6+

Hay Player

Like Farmer, Like Son

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The Countryfile star and visionary farmer explores his bond with his life-long hero: his father, Joe. In the 1940s and ’50s Joe, the son of stage and film star Leslie Henson, chose a completely different path and decided to pursue a career as a farmer. Joe overcame a serious stammer to become a regular broadcaster on Country Matters. He became the saviour of Britain’s rare breeds and opened the world’s first Farm Park.

Hay Player

Fashion, Faith, and Fantasy in the New Physics of the Universe

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Arguing that string theory has veered away from physical reality by positing six extra hidden dimensions, Penrose cautions that the fashionable nature of a theory can cloud our judgment about its plausibility. In the case of quantum mechanics, its stunning success in explaining the atomic universe has led to an uncritical faith that it must also apply to reasonably massive objects. Turning to cosmology, he argues that most of the current fantastical ideas about the origins of the universe cannot be true and that an even wilder reality may lie behind them. Penrose is one of the world’s foremost theoretical physicists.

Hay Player

Refuge: Transforming a Broken Refugee System

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Betts and his co-author Paul Collier suggest how international policymakers can deliver humane, sustainable results that are better for refugees and host countries. Drawing upon years of research in the field and original solutions that have already been successfully trialled, they outline a compelling vision that can empower refugees to help themselves, contribute to their host societies and even rebuild their countries of origin. Betts is Professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs at the University of Oxford, where he is also Director of the Refugee Studies Centre.

Hay Player

Watching Paint Dry: A Masterclass in Colour

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

As one of the country’s leading architectural historians and interior designers, Edward Bulmer has been involved in the restoration and redecoration of numerous historic buildings including Goodwood and Althorp. With this experience he has created a range of Natural Paints that are also historically authentic and accurate. As an artist, he has developed this range using just 12 natural pigments used by artists for centuries. This delivers incredible depth of colour and a high-quality finish. It also allows buildings to breathe and our own air to be toxin-free. He talks to Giles Kime, Interiors editor of Country Life.

Hay Player

Art in the Time of Colony

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

How does an artist and academic build a museum in a book? Reading from her books Art in the Time of Colony and The Importance of Being Anachronistic, the Birmingham Professor of Global Art discusses the process of writing the poetic and personal into her histories of art.

In partnership with the University of Birmingham

Hay Player

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Join the author for a discussion of her new book, Margot and Me, a tender cross-generation story of the unexpected truth that a girl uncovers about her grandmother, when she reads the diary of her life during the War.

#HAYYA

12+

Hay Player

Reformations 14: Shakespeare

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The author of This Orient Isle asks how we understand Shakespeare in a global world when his language seems more remote than ever. Drawing on his recent involvement in international productions of Macbeth and Othello he explains how Shakespearean character and language is created through rehearsal and stage action. He concludes by arguing that schools should stop studying the plays as words on the page but instead rehearse and perform them however they can.

This reformation is sponsored by The Royal Literary Fund

Hay Player

Starling Song: Murmurations of Meaning

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The 2017 INSPIRE/ASLE-UKI Lecture

Often overlooked, taken for granted and sometimes even shooed away from our bird tables, the common starling is, as Rachel Dowse shows in this illustrated talk, a beautiful and inspiring bird with a long cultural and linguistic heritage. From Aristotle and Pliny, to Mozart and the Mabinogion and Peter Coates and Robert Macfarlane, the starling has inspired writers, musicians, and scientists.

In association with INSPIRE and ASLE-UKI

Hay Player

In Concert: Breaking the Spell of Loneliness

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Hay regular George Monbiot and the folk singer and songwriter Ewan McLennan join their considerable forces for an evening that plays with songs and the human stories that inspired them. Mining the themes of loneliness and social isolation and the ways people overcome them, the interplay of words and music is poignant and encouraging.

Hay Player

Redesigning Life: How Genome Editing will Transform the World

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Genome editing has already been used clinically to treat AIDS patients by genetically modifying their white blood cells to be resistant to HIV. In agriculture, genome editing can be used to engineer species with increased food output, resistance to pests, drought and harsh environments. But these powerful new techniques also raise important ethical dilemmas. To what extent should parents be able to manipulate the genetics of their offspring? Can we effectively weigh up the risks from introducing synthetic life forms into complex ecosystems? Parrington is an Associate Professor in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology at the University of Oxford.

Hay Player

Who Our Judges Are and Why it Matters

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Who were these Supreme Court judges who might thwart ‘the will of the people’? What were their backgrounds, their politics? In response, there came a reassuring message: the job of judges is simply to apply the law made by our elected Parliament. But this reassurance is based on an understanding of judging that is at best only half true; it does sometimes matter who our judges are. Rackley is Professor of Law at University of Birmingham.

In partnership with University of Birmingham

Hay Player

Scenes and Apparitions: The Roy Strong Diaries 1988-2003

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

The super-articulate, erudite and wickedly amusing reflections of the grand curator and historian, former Director of the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A, as he moves out of the art world and London society. His vivid and intimate diaries are a treasurable record of Britain at the turn of the millennium. He talks to Corisande Albert.

Hay Player

The Gender Games

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Gender isn’t just screwing over trans people, it’s messing with everyone. From exclusionist feminists to ‘alt-right’ young men; from men who can’t cry to the women who think they shouldn’t. Juno tells not only her own story but the story of everyone who is shaped by society’s expectations of gender –and what we can do about it. A frank, witty and powerful manifesto for a world where what’s in your head is more important than what’s between your legs. Chaired by Daniel Hahn.

Hay Player

The 2017 John Maddox Lecture - Reality is Not What it Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity

Hay Festival 2017,
Thursday 1 June 2017

Do space and time truly exist? What is reality made of? Can we understand its deep texture? Taking us on a wondrous journey, Rovelli invites us to imagine a whole new world where black holes are waiting to explode, space time is made up of grains and infinity does not exist: a vast universe still largely undiscovered.

‘The man who makes physics sexy. The new Hawking. His writing is luminous.’ – The Times. Chaired by Marcus du Sautoy.

Hay Player

Big Data, Safe Data

Hay Festival 2017,
Friday 2 June 2017

The NHS collects people’s confidential data to provide their care but how else is it used? Should people be able to opt out of uses of their health data for purposes such as medical research, improving public services or commercial uses? Dame Fiona Caldicott is the National Data Guardian for Health and Care in England; Sir Nick Partridge is the former CEO of the Terence Higgins Trust and Dr Tony Calland is a former GP in Wales. Chaired by Professor Jonathan Montgomery, Professor of Health Care Law at University College London.

In partnership with the General Medical Council

Hay Player

Reformations 15: Education

Hay Festival 2017,
Friday 2 June 2017

Godfrey champions a radical vision, not only for the delivery through state and independent sector schooling, but for the very purpose of education in the UK.

Godfrey is one of the most highly regarded educationalists in Britain. He chairs England’s representative body for all sixth form colleges, the Council of the Sixth Form Colleges Association, and for 18 years has been Principal of Hereford Sixth Form College – the TES college of the year. Chaired by Peter Florence.